I don't know whether the Japanese summer has a cute mascot or not (I'm sure it has), but in case it doesn't have one, the cicada (called "semi" in Japanese) has great odds to grab this title. As soon as it gets warm (around the start of July), they also appear, for the greater joy of everyone. And they stay with us until about the middle of autumn. As for its size, you can get some idea from the picture below. But don't worry, I stole the photo from the Internet, there's no way I'd hold one in my hand like this. If it came closer than 1 meter to me, I'd run away screaming for my life, like a ten-year-old girlie... :D

They usually sit around peacefully on the trees, you can rarely see them fly around. And how do you know they're there? From the sound of their chirping, of course. That they start early in the morning and don't stop until late in the evening. I tried to capture its sound, I hope you can at least somewhat hear it...

Érdekes módon, amikor a múltkor fent voltunk a hegyekben, ott kb. egyet se lehetett hallani. Itt Tokióban viszont ahogy van egy talpalatnyi zöld terület, egyből rengeteg kabóca odatelepül. Így járt a park is, ahol reggelente munka előtt futni szoktam. Meg a Chuo Koen (angol link) park (kb. "Központi Park") Shinjukuben a városháza mellett, ahova jó időben kijárok elfogyasztani a kis obento-mat. Meg a kollégákkal is szoktunk járni oda kávézni. :) Ahol egyébként eléggé eldurvult a helyzet. Nem számoltam még meg, hogy hány kabóca lakik ott, de legalább végtelensok. :D De komolyan, ahogy a park közelébe ér az ember, olyan hangzavar fogadja, hogy az hihetetlen. Mellette a főút sokkal csendesebb. :D Az egyik kávézásunk alkalmával felvettem egy rövid részt, hátha átjön valamennyi a hangjukból. Mindenesetre élőben olyan, hogy eléggé fennhangon kell beszélni, hogy meghalljanak a többiek. És ez megy szünet nélkül, reggeltől estig, minden nap kb. 2-3 hónapon át... :DTo my surprise, when we were up in the mountains the other day, we couldn't hear even one of them. In contrast, here in Tokyo if there's some green spot, a lot of cicadas will set up camp there. That's become the fate of the park where I go running in the morning before work. And the Chuo Koen park ("Central Park") in Shinjuku, next to the Metropolitan Government Building, where I usually eat my obento when the weather allows it. We also go there often with my colleagues for a cup can of coffee. :) By the way, the situation has become rather dire there recently. I haven't counted how many cicadas live there, but I think it's somewhere around infinity. :D But really, as soon as you get close to the park, you'll be greeted by a loud cacophony of chirping cicadas. The main road next to it is a lot more quiet. :D I recorded a short sample during one of our coffee breaks hoping that you can get a feel of the experience. In real life, they force you to speak loudly, otherwise the others won't hear you. And that goes on and on from morning till evening, every day for about 2-3 months... :Dちょっと不思議なことに、先日山に行ったときに一匹も聞こえなかったよ。なのに、東京で緑の土地がちょっとでもあったら、すっごくたくさんのセミが出てくる。いつも早朝に仕事に行く前ランニングに行く公園もそんな運命だね。その上、晴れの日にお弁当を食べに行ったり、チームメート達とコーヒーを飲みに行ったりしてる新宿中央公園も。 :)ちなみにそこはすっごくやばい状態になってるよ。そこに住んでるセミを数えたことがないが、無限だと思うよ。 :D公園に近付いたら、すっごくうるさい雑音が聞こえるよ。本当に信じられない！隣の広い道路のほうが静かだよ！ :D先日コーヒーに行ったときにそれをちょっと録音しようと思った。こっちの皆もちょっと想像できるかもなぁと思って。とりあえず、実際の所で、本当に大きい声で話さないと他の人が聞こえないよ。で、それは毎日朝から晩まで続くよね。2－3ヶ月間もね… :D

By the way, if you listen closely, you can hear me speak in Japanese, as I tell my colleague that his "miiii-miiii-miiii" will be completely suppressed by all the cicadas around. (Okay, I was a bit wrong about that though... :D) And what are they chirping so vigorously? Something like "gimme a woman right now!"... To be honest, I completely understand how they feel... :D

Many of you have asked me to write about Japan, how's my life here, what's happening to me, etc. That's why I've created this blog, here I'll try to share with all of you every important, unimportant, interesting and boring things that I see / hear / experience here.